Flush lever



March 16, 1965 s. F. KOROL ETAL 3,173,153

FLUSH LEVER Filed Dec. 3, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I g F I g. 3 29b 29 E i a 26 -29o 27 INVENTORS.

Stan/e E Karol I BY Don C ar/es Schrack I i W M 46, 30 30 T HE If? A TTOR/VEYS March 16, 1965 s. F. KOROL ETAL FLUSH LEVER Filed Dec. 3, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Stanley F. Karol Don Char/es Schroc/r Fig 9 24b THE IR A T TORNE Y3 March 965 s. F. KOROL ETAL 5 FLUSH LEVER Filed Dec. 3, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 y 37 22 :x g M I Fig. /0

x F slill bk INVENTORS Sfan/ey E Karol BY Don Char/es Schroclr MM Gm THE/R ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,173,153 FLUSH LEVER Stanley F. Korol and Don Charles Schrock, .lohnstown,

Pa., assignors to Crane (10., Johnstown, Pa., 2 corporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 3, 1962, Ser. No. 242,852 4 Claims. (Cl. 4-67) This application relates to a flush lever, more particularly, a flush lever for actuating flush mechanism of a water tank for a water closet. It is a continuation-in-part of our application Serial No. 99,120 filed March 29, 1961, now abandoned.

Our flush lever is characterized by simplicity in construction, installation and operation. It can be manufactured and installed at a considerably lower cost than has been possible with flush levers heretofore known.

In the accompanying drawings, we have illustrated certain presently preferred embodiments of our invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a water tank for a water closet with the top cover removed and showing our flush lever installed on the tank;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the tank shown in FIG- URE 1 with a portion of the front wall removed to show the interior of the tank;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the lever portion of our flush lever;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the lever shown in FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a left-hand end view of the lever shown in FIGURES 3 and 4;

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are respectively plan, front and side views of a portion of a tank wall showing a mounting base for the lever shown in FIGURES 35;

FIGURE 9 is a partial plan view with portions broken away of a front wall of a water tank showing our flush lever in place; and

FIGURE 10 is .a section along the lines XX of FIG- URE 2 with certain parts omitted.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a plan view of a water tank for a water closet with the top cover removed. The tank comprises a front wall 8, a rear wall 9, end walls 10 and 11, and a bottom 12. Within the tank, there is a water inlet pipe 13 and a float valve 14 actuated by a float 15 mounted on a lever 16 extending from the float valve 14. The tank also has an overflow pipe 17 which may be integral with the rear wall 9 of the tank. A pipe, not shown, extends from the float valve into the tank to refill the tank. A bowl refill pipe 18 leads from the float valve 14 to the overflow pipe 17. In the bottom 12 of the tank, there is a flush outlet 19 which is opened and closed by a flapper-type flush valve 20 operated by a chain 21 attached to an operating flush lever. The valve may be of the type shown in US. Patents Nos. 2,741,775, 2,763,872 or 2,774,972.

The structure so far described is conventional. Our invention is directed to the flush lever which pulls the chain 21, lifts the valve 20, and thereby opens the flush outlet 19 so that water can flow out of the tank. Our flush lever comprises a lever which has an arm 22 extending from an axis of rotation of the lever into the interior of the tank. The chain 21, which is connected to the flush valve 20, is connected to the outer end of the arm 22 and provides a pivoted connection between the end of the arm and the flush valve. The lever has a second arm 23 which extends from the axis to form an angle about the lever axis with the arm 22 and which is manually engaged to actuate the lever by rotating the lever about its axis. The lever comprising the arms 22 and 23 is rotatably mounted in a base, designated generally by the reference number 24, which is fitted into a slot 25 cut in the top of a wall of the tank.

Preferably, the flush lever is mounted in the front wall of the tank, as is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings.

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 show the lever portion of our flush lever. The lever is in the form of an elongated trough having ends 26 and 27, a front side 28 irregularly shaped in cross-section, and a curved rear side 29 which joins at its lower edge with the lower edge of the front side. Pins 30 integral with or secured to the ends 26 and 27 are positioned adjacent the top and front of these ends. As will be hereinafter described, these pins extend into holes in the base 24 so that the lever may be rotated about an axis parallel to the wall of the tank in which the flush lever is mounted.

The end 27 is extended to form the arm 22 which, as shown in FIGURE 2, extends into the interior of the tank and is curved so as to extend laterally of the point of rotation of the lever. The outer end of the arm 22 has a series of holes 31 whereby the chain 21 can be adjustably secured to the arm 22. The arm 22 also has a reinforcing web 32.

As stated, the front side 28 of the lever is irregularly shaped in cross-section. This is done for purposes of decoration and appearance. The side may have any form in cross-section but should provide a surface 28a extending generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the lever with sufficient area that it may be manually engaged to actuate the lever.

The rear side 29 of the lever extends from the bottom of the front side 28 to the rear edge 26a of the end 26 and from the end 26 to the end 27. The rear side has a slot 29a which, as hereinafter described, limits downward movement of the arm 22 Within the tank.

The base 24 in which the lever is mounted is shown in FIGURES 68. It is dimensioned to fit within an opening cut in the wall of the tank on which the flush lever is mounted. Preferably, the slot is rectangular or square and, therefore, the base 24 is a frame in the shape of a square U having legs 24:! and a cross member 24b dimensioned to have a frictional fit with the edges of the wall opening when the lever is installed in the base.

To further secure the base in the opening, it has flanges 33 which extend outwardly from the legs 24a and downwardly from the cross member 24b along the front or outer side of the wall. Flanges 34 extend from the rear or inner edges of the legs 24a at a point slightly spaced from the inner side of the wall and are curved so as to press against the wall. Preferably, the base 24 is made of resilient plastic so that, when it is inserted in the opening, the flanges 33 and the flanges 34 frictionally grip the sides of the wall adjacent the opening. The cross member 24b has a downwardly extending flange 240 which extends along the inner side of the wall adjacent the opening.

The cross member 241; has a boss 35 which extends into the slot 29a in the lever when the lever is installed in the base and cooperates with the slot to limit downward movement of the arm 22, as will be later explained. Holes 36 are formed in the upper ends of the legs 24a and the pins 30 of the lever extend into these holes when the base and lever are assembled. The dimensions of the pins 30 and of the holes 36 are such that the pins can turn in the holes 36 and thus provide a lever with an axis of rotation which extends parallel to the wall of the tank in which the flush lever is mounted.

To install the flush lever on a tank, the legs 24a are spread apart so that the pins 30 can be inserted into the holes 36. At the same time, the boss 35 on the base is placed into the slot 29a in the lever. The assembly is then pressed into the slot 25 formed in the top edge of a wall of the tank. The base frictionally grips the edges of the opening in the wall and is also held in position by the top cover of the tank. FIGURE 9 shows the flush lever in assembled position on a Wall of a tank.

Referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that, if a person presses on the surface 28a, he will rotate the flush lever about the axis of rotation formed by the pins 30 in the holes 36 and thereby raise the arm 22. The arm 22 is curved rearwardly into the interior of the tank and laterally from the point of rotation of the lever and rotation of the lever will raise the outer end of the arm 22, pull the chain 21, and thereby open the flush valve 20. The lever arm will then fall by gravity, returning the lever assembly to normal position. When the tank has been emptied, the fiush valve will return to the position shown in FIGURE 2. Downward motion of the arm 22 is limited by the fact that, when the arm reaches the position shown in FIGURE 2, the inner end 2% of the slot 29a will engage the boss 35 on the base.

FIGURE 10 illustrates an important feature of our invention. In opening a flush valve, the maximum force is applied at the time of the initial movement of the valve against pressure of the water in the tank tending to hold the valve closed. Our flush lever is arranged so that on initial movement of the lever to open the valve, the end of the lever connected to the valve follows a circular path of movement in which the horizontal component of movement is considerably greater than the vertical com ponent, with the result that there is a considerable initial movement of the arm with a relatively small amount of direct lifting action. This provides a high mechanical advantage at the time when maximum lifting force is required to unseat the flush valve.

Referring to FIGURE 10, it will be seen that a line 3'7 drawn through the axis of rotation of the lever provided by the pins 30 and the point where the chain 21 is connected to the outer end of the lever makes an angle of approximately 60 with a horizontal line 38 passing through the axis of rotation. When the leveris rotated, the outer end of the lever moves in a circular path, and, at the start of this movement, it moves in a direction indicated by a tangent 39 to the circular path of movement which makes an angle of 30 with a horizontal line passing through the point of tangency. Thus, on initial movement of the outer end of the lever, its horizontal component of movement is considerably greater than its vertical component of movement. This is due to the fact that as shown in FIGURE 10, the dihedral angle between the vertical plane passing through the axis of rotation and the plane including said axis and said pivoted connection is less than 45. After the flush valve has been opened, the lever has moved along its circular path of movement to a point where the vertical component exceeds the horizontal component and completes the full opening of the valve quickly. In the full open position shown in chain lines in FIGURE 10, the line 37 makes an angle of approximately 20 with the horizontal line 38 passing through the axis of rotation of the lever.

The length of the slot 2% is such that its inner end 29b engages the boss 35 on downward valve closing movement of the lever to hold the lever 2 when at rest in the position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 10. In an actual embodiment of our invention in which the radius of the circular path of the outer end of the lever 22 is 5 /8" and in which the lever rotates approximately 40, the point where the chain is attached to the end of the lever will move through an are approximately 3 /2" long and rise vertically 2 /8".

Preferably, both the base and the arm are molded of suitable plastic materials so that they can be manufactured at low cost. It is particularly desirable to have the base made of a flexible plastic such as polyethylene so that its legs can be separated to install the pins 30 in the holes 36 and then returned to a position to fit tightly in the opening formed in the tank. When mounted in the tank, the base cannot spread and the pivot pins cannot be dislodged from the pivot holes.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that we have invented a flush lever which can be manufactured and installed at low cost. An unusual advantage arising from our flush lever is that, in using our lever, the force required to actuate a flush valve has been found to be approximately one half of the force required to actuate a conventional lever.

While we have described certain presently preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A water closet comprising,

(A) a tank havingawall,

(B) a slot in the wall extending from the top edge of said wall,

(C) a flush valve in the base of the tank,

(D) a frame for a flush lever mounted within said slot,

(E) a cover for the tank above said wall and holding said frame within the slot,

(F) a flush lever mounted in said frame for rotation about an axis extending parallel to the wall, said lever having (1) a first arm (0) extending inwardly from said axis into the interior of the tank, and having (b) means pivotally connecting the outer end of this arm to the flush valve,

(2) a second arm extending from said axis and forming an angle about said axis with the first arm whereby pressure on the second arm will rotate the lever about its axis and raise the first arm within the tank to open said flush valve.

(G) the connection between the outer end of the inwardly extending arm and the flush valve in the closed position of the flush valve holding the first lever arm downwardly in the tank at an angle of approximately 30 with a vertical plane passing through said axis of rotation whereby, on rotation of said lever, said first arm initially moves in a circular path greater than the vertical movement of the flush valve.

2. A flushing device for a water closet tank having a flush valve adjacent the bottom of the tank comprising,

(A) said tank being provided with a frame on its front wall,

(B) alever having,

(1) means for mounting the lever on said frame for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis extending parallel to said wall,

(2) a first arm,

(a) extending inwardly from said axis into the interior of the tank, and having (b) means pivotally connecting the outer end of this arm to the flush valve,

(3) a second arm extending from said axis and forming an angle about said axis with the first arm whereby pressure on the second arm will rotate the lever about its axis and raise the first arm within the tank to open said flush valve,

(C) the connection between the outer end of the inwardly extending arms in the closed position of the flush valve holding the first lever arm downwardly in the tank at an angle of approximately 30 with a vertical plane passing through said axis of rotation whereby, on rotation of said lever, said first arm initially moves in a circular path greater than the vertical movement of the flush valve.

3. A flushing device as described in claim 2 in which the frame is dimensioned to frictionally grip the edges of a slot cut in the top edge of the wall on which the frame is mounted.

4. A flushing device as described in claim 3 in which the frame has flanges which extend along the sides of the edges of the opening in which the frame is mounted.

(References on following page) 5 5 References Cited in the file of this patent 1,627,943 Wellingion May 10, 1927 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1, 47, D8 Wallace Oct. 25, 1927 1,076,925 Tilden Oct, 28, 1913 1,757,159 Bsardsley y 6, 1930 1,500,628 Leslie July 8, 1924 5 1,766,491 Delany June 24, 1930 1,563,729 Dominquez Dec. 1, 1925 2,879,522 St M 31, 1959 

2. A FLUSHING DEVICE FOR A WATER CLOSET TANK HAVING A FLUSH VALVE ADJACENT THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK COMPRISING, (A) SAID TANK BEING PROVIDED WITH A FRAME ON ITS FRONT WALL, (B) A LEVER HAVING, (1) MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE LEVER ON SAID FRAME FOR ROTATION ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID WALL, (2) A FIRST ARM, (A) EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM SAID AXIS INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE TANK, AND HAVING (B) MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE OUTER END OF THIS ARM TO THE FLUSH VALVE, (3) A SECOND ARM EXTENDING FROM SAID AXIS AND FORMING AN ANGLE ABOUT SAID AXIS WITH THE FIRST ARM WHEREBY PRESSURE ON THE SECOND ARM WILL ROTATE THE LEVER ABOUT ITS AXIS AND RAISE THE FIRST ARM WITHIN THE TANK TO OPEN SAID FLUSH VALVE, (C) THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OUTER END OF THE INWARDLY EXTENDING ARMS IN THE CLOSED POSITION OF THE FLUSH VALVE HOLDING THE FIRST LEVER ARM DOWNWARDLY IN THE TANK AT AN ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY 30* WITH A VERTICAL PLANE PASSING THROUGH SAID AXIS OF ROTATION WHEREBY, ON ROTATION OF SAID LEVER, SAID FIRST AND INITIALLY MOVES IN A CIRCULAR PATH GREATER THAN THE VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THE FLUSH VALVE. 